BETHLEHEM — The road to Hershey comes with plenty of challenges, and Evan Gillespie certainly found that out on day two of the Northeast Regional 3A tournament.

The Pleasant Valley senior plowed his way through the postseason up until Saturday.

After winning districts a week ago and pinning six straight opponents at districts and regionals, Gillespie struggled in Saturday’s action, losing in the semifinals and consolation bracket to settle for fifth place at 215.

It was the last ticket available to Hershey, as the top five wrestlers in each weight class move on to the PIAA championships this Thursday at the Giant Center.

“I wanted to be a regional champion, and wanted to come back and take third,” said Gillespie. “I just had a hard time breathing. I’m a little sick and it just felt like my throat was closing, but I also need to learn to have some more patience and not expect to just throw guys.”

After pinning his first two opponents at regionals, Gillespie ran into Pittston’s Brody Spindler in Saturday’s semifinals and hit the proverbial wall.

Spindler took Gillespie down twice in the first period, which ultimately was enough to lock up the win. Gillespie showed a glimpse of hope in the third period by scoring three back points, but it was all the offense he could muster.

It was the first match this postseason that went past the first period for Gillespie and conditioning, along with sickness, came to the forefront.

“I was out of shape and felt good, it was just hard to breathe,” said Gillespie. “All these 215-pound guys are strong, but [Spindler] just used his weight differently. He was exactly the type of wrestler I thought he was. I thought I could just run him over, but he was hard to move.”

Gillespie’s day got even worse when he lost to Stroudsburg’s Zion Essington in the consolation semis 8-5.

He jumped out quickly in the bout with the opening takedown, but things unraveled from there, as Essington was able to score takedowns in the second and third periods for the win.

He finally came back to his former self in the fifth-place match, pinning Frank Scialpi of Abington Heights in 1:18 to salvage his tournament and keep his hopes for a medal in Hershey alive.

Wrestling gets underway at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday with the preliminary and first rounds.

Quarterfinal action begins on Friday at 2:15 p.m. and semifinals are at 7 p.m.

Consolation medal rounds are slated for 11:30 a.m. Saturday, with finals set for 4 p.m.